National Assembly adopts amended Law on Protection of State Secrets

The Law comprises five chapters and 28 articles, and will take effect from March 1, 2026.

Presenting the report on explanations and revisions to the draft law, Minister of Public Security General Luong Tam Quang stated that the Ministry of Public Security, as the drafting body, had revised and amended several provisions regarding the scope of State secrets in the fields of legislation, supervision, finance and budget, industry, agriculture, environment, culture, health, social affairs, and personnel and organization.

The revisions aim to narrow the scope of State secrets to better meet the requirements for socio-economic development, scientific and technological application, innovation, national digital transformation and international integration.

The draft law also prohibits individuals or organizations from labelling the information out of the State secrets list as a State secret, and from using artificial intelligence (AI) or emerging technologies to compromise State secrets.

It attaches the responsibilities of agencies and organizations to applying AI and new technologies to the protection of State secrets, and deciding on security measures to protect their independent LAN systems as well as on the use of computers and devices to draft and store State-secret information.

The Minister clarified that the provisions on State secrets classification are formulated based on two criteria: the nature and importance of the information, and the scale of harm in case it was disclosed or lost. These provisions are drafted with reference to the classification of serious, very serious and especially serious crimes in the Criminal Code.

Answering questions raised by NA deputies, Minister Luong Tam Quang affirmed that the scope of State secrets in the draft law is defined in a general and overarching manner, assisting competent agencies in making a full accurate list of State secrets for their sectors.